The investigation centered on three vessels—the MT Asphalt Star, MT Stellar Ruby, and MT Al Jafzia—which were apprehended following the detection of suspicious cargo transfers on February 4 and 5. According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed at Mumbai’s Yellow Gate police station on February 15, the MT Asphalt Star played a pivotal role in the evasion. Electronic data recovered from the ship’s ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) revealed that the vessel entered Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on January 20 and remained there for eight days. Crucially, on January 28, the vessel's crew allegedly disabled its Automatic Identification System (AIS), VHF radio, and all tracking sensors, effectively rendering the ship invisible to global monitoring systems during its suspicious maneuvers.
The crackdown, initiated by Coast Guard Commandant Aniruddha Dharmpal Dabash, led to the arrest of Captain Shyam Bahadur Chauhan and a crew member on charges of smuggling and forgery. Authorities allege the vessels employed "AIS spoofing"—a tactic used to broadcast false coordinates—to mask their true locations. Legal documents state that the MT Asphalt Star transferred 30 metric tons of heavy fuel oil to the MT Al Jafzia and an additional 5,473 metric tons of bitumen to the MT Stellar Ruby within the Indian EEZ, all without notifying the required maritime authorities. The ships’ owner, Joginder Singh Brar, an Indian national based in Abu Dhabi, has been named among nine accused. While Brar maintains that the transfers were merely humanitarian "vessel-in-distress" supplies and has threatened a defamation suit, investigators remain focused on the systematic bypass of maritime protocols.
This high-stakes seizure highlights India’s intensifying role in monitoring the "shadow fleet"—a global network of aging tankers used to transport sanctioned oil. By clamping down on these illicit transfers, the Indian Coast Guard is not only securing its sovereign waters but also aligning with broader international efforts to curb the financial lifelines of sanctioned entities. As the three tankers remain anchored in Mumbai under heavy guard, the ongoing investigation serves as a stern warning that the Indian Ocean will not be a permissive environment for those attempting to navigate the dark corners of global trade.
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